The basic skin surgery procedures GPs should know

In this video, Associate Professor Tony Dicker shares the basic skin cancer surgery procedures all GPs who treat skin cancers should know.

A/Prof Tony Dicker — who is an expert instructor for HealthCert's skin cancer surgery workshops — says, "The starting point is elliptical excisions. One thing I frequently see in our surgical classes is that doctors often don't tie surgical knots properly.

"It sounds like a very basic, fundamental thing, but in actually tying a surgical knot, there are some simple little techniques to make sure you're tying a knot correctly.

"Why does it matter if you don't tie a knot correctly? The wound comes undone, the knot slips, the wound opens up, and you get worse cosmetic results." 

He says the next basic procedure doctors should master is how to excise the skin, because "It's not necessarily intuitive as to how to cut the skin [and] how to stretch the skin. How deep do I cut? How wide do I cut?

"[Furthermore], as you start to expand your skin cancer services, what materials do you use? Have you got the right sutures? Are you doing deep sutures? Something as simple as learning how to do deep knots can make a big impact for your surgical results.

"All these little things are just little tips and tricks you have to pick up at the very beginning to do better work."

See all this and more in the full video below!

Watch the video with A/Prof Tony Dicker:

For further information on this topic, you may be interested to learn more about HealthCert's Professional Diploma program in Skin Cancer Surgery. Tailored for GPs. Available online or with workshop.